Month: November 2010

So another birthday has come and gone. This one is different from the past few years. I’ve always had a party during my birthday for the past so many years to celebrate another year that has passed.
This year I didn’t feel like having a party. In fact I wasn’t really in the mood for any celebration. Turns out this year was one that was simple and yet quite a great birthday.

I woke up at 6 a.m. I couldn’t really sleep much since my body clock is screwed up. I had to be up early since apart from being my birthday I was going to be a godparent to my friends’ twin boys.
Allan and Gay, two good friends of mine have been blessed with twin boys. Emilio and Javier. They chose me to be one of their godparents. It was quite an honor for me since they are close friends of mine and it was my first time to be a godparent to twins.
The baptism ceremony went well. The baptistery was packed with family and friends to witness the welcoming of Emilio and Javier to the Christian world.

After the ceremony I stayed behind and went to mass. I had not had a chance to go and hear mass yet so I heard mass. After I mass my aides and I went to light candles and say a prayer. As we did, a man approached us and asked about my condition. He then after offered to say a prayer for me. I humbly accepted. After the prayer we spoke for a while. He said that something inside just compelled him to ask if he could pray for my healing. I told him it was much appreciated. Especially since it was my birthday and that his prayers were a nice gift.

I proceeded to the reception of the baptism after mass. I was able to spend a nice afternoon talking to some old friends that I have not seen in awhile. I saw Mai and Allan (newly weds, congrats guys), Pia (an old friend from awhile back) as well as others. I also had the pleasure of meeting Gay’s sister Joy for the first time. She’s an oncologist practicing in a hospital near where I live.

Dinner with my family followed after the baptism reception. My brother’s gift to me was a wonderful home cooked meal consisting of pumpkin soup, salad, roast chicken, pommes frites, mac and cheese and French green beans. Yum! Dessert was special cupcakes and a chocolate birthday cake courtesy of Camille (my aunt whom I treat like a cousin coz she’s younger than me) and Cha (good friend of mine). We were joined by Nes and Trina, two of the closest friends I have.

It was a simple dinner filled with laughter and stories. Candles were blown, cake was eaten, wine was drank, everyone was happy. It was an intimate dinner.

On another note, I was touched by the simple gesture that my newest aide, Anthony made. He gave me a small statue of the Mother Mary and told me that he had it blessed. He said it wasn’t expensive but it was full of his prayers for me. I was touched. I don’t ask for anything from my aides so this one was really appreciated.

It was a wonderful birthday. Simple but filled with good things.
Thank God for 33 years of life. Thank you for the gift of family and friends. Thank you for all the well wishes and warm greetings. I feel blessed to be living my life.

The weeks leading to my birthday, I was a little depressed and feeling sad. Not because I wasn’t grateful that another year has passed but it was something else.

Jesus was around 33 when he was crucified and eventually died. In his 33 years of existence he has done so much for the world. He not only saved us from our sins but done a lot of good for a lot of people. Healing, teaching, preaching, etc. he changed the world.
I felt depressed because I am turning 33 and I asked myself, what do I have to show for it? If I died tom, would my life have mattered?

Now don’t get me wrong. I am not comparing myself to Jesus, far from it. I was just reflecting on how Jesus and a lot of other people have done so much with their lives in a short span of time.
I was feeling depressed and one night I was chatting with a dear friend of mine on Facebook and I told her how I felt. She gave me some advice as to how she looked at things when she turned 33. She said that instead of looking at it as a “crucifixion”, look at it as a “resurrection”. She said that she made a deliberate decision to be more positive and decisive with her life. She thought of it as a rebirth rather than the opposite. Going forward she would try to do things better and make wiser decisions.

It was a simple revelation; one that was always there. I needed reminding. I need to be more positive in how I look at things again. It was a great piece of advice from a very wise and good friend.
So starting today instead of feeling bad and being depressed because I think I haven’t done enough with my life, I will focus on today and the future and think of more ways to do more with my life.

There are something’s I know I can immediately do such as try to do something good for someone every day and there are some that will take years. Whatever it is as long as it’s trying to make this world a better place then that’s what I’d want to focus on.

I guess in life we should keep focus on our “resurrections”, our rebirth. This means that from every trial and tribulation we can experience a rebirth. This also means that we should always look at the good in our lives. The things we can build on. We should focus less on our crucifixions, our problems and the negativity that brings us down.

I promise myself that from today, I will do my best and focus on what is good; focus on the things that will make me a better person and things that will affect change in the world around me.

_Thank you Cha for pointing this out to me. You are a good friend and a very wise one at that. You are a person that I admire a lot. You show me everyday what it means to be a good Christian. I am honored to be your friend._

About Fight Pompe

Welcome to my corner of the virtual world. I mainly put up this blog to chronicle my fight against Pompe Disease. A rare genetic disorder. Apart from that I wanted to write about things I've learned going through my experience, stuff I love which includes design and a bunch of other stuff. I hope you enjoy reading my entries. Check out my about page for more details.